Stamford launches small business portal for aspiring entrepreneurs

Published 3:00 am, Thursday, January 14, 2016

STAMFORD — Aspiring entrepreneurs, take note: starting your local Stamford business is now only a few clicks away.

Mayor David Martin joined Director of Economic Development Thomas Madden in announcing the launch of the city’s new business portal on Monday afternoon.

The website, stamfordbusinessportal.org, is aimed at facilitating the process of planning and operating a small businesses in Stamford.

“We feel that far too much of the focus is on two or three big corporations and not enough on mid-tier and smaller corporations, because we are home to a thriving and diverse small business community,” said Martin. “Since I took office two years ago, I have been working to cut the red tape that is inherent in city government and to simplify processes to make government more accessible. The launch of this website is just one of the steps we are taking toward that goal.”

Martin says that, since Stamford is such a diverse community, there was an emphasis placed on making the website accessible to people of all languages.

Consequently, not only is the website available in upwards of 50 different languages, but it also provides information for people in the many different stages of operating a business, whether you’re starting a business or just trying to branch your business out.

In addition to containing PDF links for permitting and licensing forms, the website also provides resources for networking, buying existing businesses, or, in the worst case scenario, pursuing options for business closures.

“This is just the first of many efforts … in terms of making the city friendlier from a digital standpoint, so that you’re able to access all information online. This makes it easier for small businesses to start and work with the city in terms of expanding,” said Jackie Lightfield, the executive director of the Stamford Partnership.

The three-month, $30 thousand project was spearheaded by a team of six summer interns (four of which were from the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program) overseen by Madden. “Madden’s Army,” as the development team was jokingly referred to, used San Francisco’s $600,000 business portal as the model for its project.

“The website provides easy step-by-step guides for people that would like to start a business but really do not know where to start,” said Madden.

Madden also added that the website would continue to evolve over the next few years. For instance, he hopes that in the next year the website will include PDF forms that people could fill out and submit right on the website, which would greatly expedite the process even more.

The next step in the digitalizing of Stamford startups, Madden says, will be a site selector website that he hopes will be ready by this summer. This website, which will be targeted at bigger businesses as well as the smaller ones, will provide entrepreneurs with the chance to digitally survey and research new locations for potential business opportunities.